Asthma

Asthma is the biggest barrier to working out effectively for 3 of my personal training clients. My wife has had huge lung issues. Her lungs probably have the inflammation from an asthma reaction and probably 'something else' even though the 'something else' has never been diagnosed exactly. A chest biopsy was totally inconclusive. I am probably border-line sensitive to exercise-induced asthma. These factors motivated me to write Exercising Safely with Exercise-induced Asthma.

The Fall 2007 issue of Medline Plus Magazine focuses on Asthma with a front cover picture of Wynonna Judd - who never lets Asthma hold her back. Pages 14 to 19 give an easy to read update on the latest in Asthma treatment.

Anyone trying to exercise with Asthma needs to know:

• take your medication exactly as prescribed. Trying to 'ween' yourself off the anti-inflammatory medications that form the preventative aspect of asthma treatment is making life difficult for yourself
• warm-up slowly. If an exercise-induced asthma attack is going to happen it is most likely in the first 8 minutes of working-out. So warm up very slowly to try and get through this danger period safely.
• if you do get an asthma attack, do not give up - you still might be able to work out but ease down to slow walking (better than stopping totally). There is every chance the attack will pass and then you have a period of an hour, possibly longer, in which the chance of a second attack is unlikely.
• cool-down slowly. You might get an asthma attack if you finish working out too abruptly. Just stopping and sitting down feeling pooped - not a good idea. Slow down over about 10 minutes should give you protection from an asthma attack.
• about 90% of people with Asthma are likely to get an exercise-induced asthma attack. So even if you have 'ordinary' asthma, following these simple rules is a sensible thing to do.

There are also some nutrition changes you should think about making - particularly with regard to omega-3 fatty acids, salt and caffeine. My book gives you all the details.